to NIGEL

[nathansackett]

Nigel,
Are you the same Nigel that posted the article about replacing the e-27 windows with lexan?
I am doing it, but i have one question. Did you fill the liner and deck space with epoxy primer or silicone? My thought is that the epoxy would cure too hard and break. any thoughts?
and second, how did you sink your screws into the plastic, did you use wood screws?

thanks,
nathan

 

[mufflaw]

There is a great article (post) on this site under owners and projects. I think West Epoxy was used, It dries hard but is not brittle. Read the post you wont regret it!

 

[mufflaw]

O.K. I just re-read it, and realized that might be the same Nigel you were refering to. He doesn't say which epoxy he used, but West Epoxy System would be superior. He does say that he used through bolts, I would recomend through bolting with the caped nuts on the inside. Hope I helped.

 

[Loren Beach]

A note about fastening...

The standard fixed ports on our Olson are external Lexan (r) fastened with round head screws. These thread into the FRP cabin side and into the 1/2 inch (nominal) teak-face ply on the inside. No air space...

However, if you fill in the void between the inner and outer FRP pieces with about a half inch of thickened epoxy, I submit that tapping in with some short thread-cutting screws would be all you need. This avoids a bunch of protruding nuts on the inside to ding your head on when the boat rolls...
Note: drill the holes in the Lexan oversize to allow for thermal expansion. Note Two: you MUST float the lens on about an eighth inch of sealant. One trick is to put little tiny O rings around each screw hole after you dry-fit. You do not (repeat, not) want to squeeze all the sealant out when you *gently* tighten the screws. That external lens will then "float" on a raised bed of sealant, letting it expand and contract with ambient temperature without breaking the bond.

The best stuff I could find, after a lot of research, was BoatLife "Life Seal". This is one of the few sealants formulated to bond to plastics and not harm them.
(There are harder-to-source proprietory sealants in the commercial glazing industry, if you have the contacts...)

Also, when you dry-fit, cut away only the paper on the inside where the sealant will contact the surface, and then abraid that surface with some 80 grit. Bring your 3M Blue tape or Fine Line right to where the edge of the sealant will be...
Have a container handy to put paper towels and used rags into... and have a helper... that sealant can find its way all over you and the boat if you are not carefull.

Before the sealant hardens, peel off tape, then the paper on the lens. Take a break for a cold one and resist the urge to futz with it too much more....
To be boring and repeat myself, the dry fit is THE most important part.
We got a lot of nice comments about our replacement of our 4 fixed ports.... "better than factory!"...

Good luck on your project,

Loren
Olson 34 #8

 

[Nigel Barron]

Yep, that was me.

It was me, and I am still really happy with the windows. I did use West System and a little fairing compound to fill the void. Other than that, I would refer to what Lauren had to say. I did through bolt, and just put carriage bolts on the inside.

On another note, sometime this weekend I will upload a few new pictures of my Ericson 27. I replaced all but the upper standing rigging with Vectrus, added check stays, still have the baby stay, and added a hardpoint mid bow for a staysail. Love the staysail. Great for jib reaching, and works awesome with the A-Sail, and the best thing is that in PHRF it is unrated sail area!

Nigel

 

[nathansackett]

thank you all for the advise, it is really very helpful.
i have filled the liner and deck with the west system epoxy with fairing compount. tomorrow i will 'float' the lexan.
thanks again, and i will let you know how it went.